1. Technical Description
The present invention relates generally to golf cars having disk brakes and, more particularly, to golf cars having hydraulically actuated disk brakes, a single point latching mechanism, and an integrated accelerator pedal and brake pedal release of the brake system when in a parking mode.
2. Description of Related Art
Most golf cars, and other small utility vehicles, have brake systems in one form or another. Examples of such systems may be found with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,289, U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,415, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,189, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein for their technical teachings. While the above referenced patent documents, and other references, discuss application of brakes to utility vehicles and golf cars, brake systems for small vehicles and golf cars may yet be improved to increase the ease of use, feel, performance, serviceability, and the like.
The typical golf car brake system includes a brake pedal and interconnected accelerator pedal. When the brake pedal is depressed a predetermined distance, the brake system operates in a normal or service mode. Depressing the brake pedal further engages a parking mode which maintains the golf car in a stationary position. When engaging the parking mode, most brake pedals have numerous mechanical detent positions to enable progressive application of increasing braking force. In some golf cars, the first detent position does not apply sufficient braking force to maintain the golf car in a stationary position. However, because each detent position often generates an audible click, an operator may assume that the parking brake has been sufficiently engaged when the parking brake has yet to be sufficiently engaged. Further, conventional brake systems are mechanically sprung to return the brake pedal to a non-depressed position. When disengaging the parking brake, such brake systems often generate a particularly loud, audible pop which can be somewhat distracting to the operator.
It is therefor an object of the present invention to provide a brake system for a golf car which significantly improves upon the prior brake systems.
Lightweight off-road utility vehicles used as personnel and cargo carriers, such as golf carts, are much smaller than conventional automobiles used on the highways. Their tires and wheels are much smaller, and the space beneath the vehicle body is much smaller, thus providing much less room for the mounting of braking mechanisms at the rear wheels. While the brakes used on golf cars have historically been very satisfactory for stopping purposes, the service interval between changing of brake pads or shoes has been relatively short, and often is about one year for a golf car that sees extensive use. As labor costs mount for golf course operators and the like, there is a growing perception that is would be desirable to have a brake system whose pads or shoes last longer than conventional brakes, thus reducing the overall costs of providing periodic brake service to the vehicles and allowing the vehicles to be in service for longer periods of time, before being pulled out of service for a brake inspection and possible brake pad/brake shoe replacement. Further, when pulled out of service, there is a continuing need to minimize downtime and to minimize the difficulty and amount of labor required to replace the brake shoes or pads.
Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide an improved braking mechanism that will have a long service life for use on the rear wheel of small off-road utility vehicles such as golf cars that have small wheels and wide tires. A related object is to provide a disk brake caliper mechanism that is easy to service, and that requires minimal disassembly to change the replaceable brake pads within the brake caliper assembly. A further object is to provide an extremely compact construction for a robust hydraulic disk brake assembly which is able to fit within the very confined space in the vicinity of the wheel hub and wheel rim of a small-size off-road vehicle such as a golf car. A related object is to provide a compact construction for a brake caliper assembly which features excellent parking braking power and a very long service life between brake pad changes. Another object is to provide an easily-assembled yet compact brake caliper assembly that is of very low profile, such that it can fit between a small-diameter wheel rim and the central cylindrical housing portion of a hub and rotor assembly on a conventional light-weight utility vehicle having a small diameter wide wheel rim associated with wide-profile tires such as those found on a golf car.